Can handling apparatus



Nov. 30, 1943;

w. i. GLADFELTER r-:T Al.` 2,335,239

CAN` HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 2, 1940 m SNOW emv EN;

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yCAN` HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 30, 1943..4 w. 1. GLADFELTER ET AL' kCAN HANDLING `APPARATUS Filed Aug. 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 30, 1943.r w.,1. GLADFELTE ET AL) 2,335,239l

CAN HANDLING APPARATUS 'Filed Aug( 2, 1940 5 sheets-smet 4 Will www.

NGV. 30, 1943- lw. l. GLADFl-:LTER ETAL 4 2,335,239

CAN HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 2, 1940 Patented Nov. 30, 1943 v CAN HANDLING APPARATUS Wiltle I. Gladfelter and WliliamfH. Moore, Philadelphia, Pa., asslgnors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York.

Application August z, 1940, serial No. 349,862

(ci. 19a-25) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for doubleseaming end members upon the ends oi' metallic container bodies. and tomeans for handling such articles and for delivering them to the seamer in inverted position. y Q

It is an object oi' the invention to provide apl naratus that will take a line of containers, such as drawn, seamless can bodies having frusto-coni ical upper ends and open bottom ends, and deliver them in inverted position to a bottom saamer.

It is a further object of the invention to pro-V vide novel can body receiving means in the seamer, as Well as to provide improved devices for supporting the truste-conical ends thereof and presenting the open bottom ends to the seaming heads.

Itl is a further object of the invention to provide l novel container body inverting devices adapted to receive a line of bodies in horizontal position, for instance, from an inclined chute down which they roll by gravity, and present them to an infeed dial associated with a bottom seamer in inverted, upright position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide, in can handling apparatus, improved article holding brackets or pockets having magnetic holding elements, and to provide improved means for transferring the containers from one set o! holders to another.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel can supporting brackets mounted for swinging movement from a horizontal position to a vertical position, to invert the cans and deliver them to an infeed dial of a can seeming machine or the like in that position. 4

A further object of the invention is to provide improved can outi'eed devices, adapted to remove the seamed containers from the double-seamer and to deliver the same in upright position upon a discharge conveyor.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will ybe apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following description of the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus with certain parts removed for the` sake of clarity.

Figure 2 is an elevation and partial section on an enlarged scale, showing the can inverting devices and associated parts.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on line 3 3 oi' Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view, with certain parts removed, showing ated parts.

Figure 5 is a section substantially on line 5--5 oi.' Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic vertical section with parts removed, taken through the doubleseaming machine, and

Figure 'I is a vertical section taken substantially on line 'l-1 of Figure l.

Although not confined to such use, the present invention is adapted for use in a can making line, to handle and double-seam the bottoms of containers of the type disclosed in the pending application of Calleson et al., Serial No. 334,876, iiled May 13, 1940. Drawn seamless containers of this type roll in a line down a chute I0 under .the iniluence of gravity. At this stage,

the bodies il have been drawn in a body maker.

for instance, of thettype shown in the application of Calleson and Calleson, Serial No. 280,650, iiled June 22, 1939. The conical ends i2 and y the necks I3 having a crown finish formed thereon have been drawn and the bodies terminate at their lower ends in outwardly lprojecting seaming anges I4, but the bottom end closure members have not yet been applied.

Below the end of the chute I0, there is positioned a dial I5 having a plurality of pockets I6 formed in its periphery, the pockets being aligned with the lowerend of the chute and adapted to receive containers therefrom as the dial rotates. The dial I5 is mounted for rotation about the axis of a horizontal shaft i1 which is driven by gears i8, i9 from la .vertical drive shaft 20.

Each pocket i6 inthe dial is provided with a radial bore 2 i, in whicha magnetic plug 22 is positioned, the plug being held in place by a set screw 23 or the like. Each plug 22 serves to hold a container in the associated pocket, as the dial rotates to bring the containers. in horizontal position, to the lowermost point in the path oi' rotation of the dial.

Below the vertical dial I5, there is positioned a can inverting apparatus, comprising a pair of sprockets 25, 28, mounted for rotation with vertical shafts 21, 28. A sprocket chain 29, trained under the innuence oi' gravity to a substantially the inverting table and associv dial I5. At that position, the brackets are in their upper, horizontal position, the rollers 33 being, supported upon the upper run of the track 34. A stationary stripper plate 31 is supported, by any appropriate means, adjacent the bottom of the dial I5, to assist the 'magnets 32 and gravity in removing the horizontally positioned container bodies from the pockets I6 of the dial. I and depositing them in the horizontally positioned pockets of the brackets 3|.

The sprockets 25, 26 and the chainY 29 are rotated in predetermined relation to the dial I5 by a chain 48 trained about a sprocket 4I on the dial drive shaft 20 and another sprocket 42 on the shaft 28, which carries the sprocket 26.

As the brackets move around with the sprocket chain, the rollers 33 encounter a downwardly inclined portion 34a of the track 34, whereupon lthe brackets swing from the horizontal position downwardly to a substantially vertical position with the neck ends of the container bodies positioned downwardly and the open bottom ends upwardly, the bodies being held in the pockets 35 by the magnets 36.

Associated with a double-seaming machine, represented generally at 46, there is an infeed dial 45, mounted for rotation on a vertical shaft 41, the dial having article receiving pockets.` 48 in its periphery, adapted to move into receiving relation to the inverted cans in the pockets 35 of the brackets 3| at the position 49 in Figures 1 and 4. Each pocket 48 has a pair of permanent, can holding magnets 58 associated therewith, to hold the inverted can bodies rmly therein, the transfer being effected by stripper plates 5I 52 which are shaped and positioned to cause the bodies to move-with the pockets 48 of the infeed dial 45 and to move out of the brackets 3|.

IThe container bodies, held in inverted position in the pockets 48 of the infeed dial 45, are moved, upon rotation of the dial in a counter-clockwise direction, to the transfer position 53, where they are transferred by a stationary stripper plate 54 into the pockets 55 of a dial 56 associated with the double-seaming machine, represented generally at 46, the bodies being held in place in those pockets by magnets 51. At the time that this transfer is elected (Fig. 7), the bottom end members 60 are resting upon the upwardly directed seaming flanges I4 of the container bodies I I. The end members 6Il.may be placed in position by any suitable means, either before or after the transfer of the bodies from the brackets 3| to the pockets 48 of the dial 45. That is, they may be positioned above the pockets 48 at the assessesv thereabove, these parts being rotatable in unison about the axis of a central vertical shaft 64 and the seaming rolls being rotatable about their- The table 62 is provided with a plurality of vertical sleeves 65 in which chuck assemblies 66 are mounted for vertical sliding movement the chuck assemblies having caxn following rollers B1 at their lower ends supported upon a stationary cam track 68. Each chuck assembly has, at its upper end, a frusto-conical socket member 69 having a rubber lining 10 therein.' As the table rotates, the .chuck assemblies are raised successivelyl to the position shown at the left in Figure 6, with the rubber lined socket members in engagement with the conical ends I2 of the containers. The chucks continue' their upward movement and project the bottom ends of the containers, with the lend members 60 resting thereon, upwardly into seaming relation to the seaming heads B3. These seaming heads and several other parts of the machine to which the novel features of the present invention are attime of transfer of bodies thereto, .or they may y able table 62 therebelow, and a plurality of seaming heads represented diagrammatically at 63 tached may be similar to corresponding parts in a seaming machine known as an Angelus 69-P- Seamer. During the rotation of the table, while the container bodies and bottom end members are in operative relation to such seaming heads, seaming rolls 15 are operated in a well known manner to double-seam the a'nges of the members 60 to the outwardly projecting seaming flanges of the container bodies. parts are old and well known in machines of the Angelus type and in other machines, they will not be shown in detail herein.

At the conclusion of the seaming operation, after the end members 68 have been doubleseamed upon the container bodies, the chuck assemblies 66 are lowered to the inoperative position, as shown at the right in Figure 6. A pair of fixed stripper plates 16, 11, disposed adjacent the discharge position 18, move the containers out of the pockets 55, against the pull of magnets 51 and guide the containers into the pockets 19 of an outfeed dial80, fixed upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 8|, adjacent the table of the double-seaming machine. The pockets of the outfeed dial are provided with magnets 82 which support the cans until they are removed therefrom by stripper bars83, which may constitute extensions of a twister 84. The twister comprises a plurality of downwardly inclined bars along which the containers roll or slide, the bars being bent or twisted to cause the containers to assume an upright, neck-up position as they are deposited upon conveyor cables or the like, which take them to the next machine in the line, such as a pressure testing apparatus or the like.

As indicated in Figure 6, -the vertical shaft 64 'of the double-seaming machine and the shaft 8| for the out-feed dial BIJ are journalled for rotation in a Xed base 98, the latter supporting the cam 68 and the other parts of the machine. The shaft 21 for sprocket 25 of the container body inverting table, likewise, is supported at its lower end in an arcuate extension 9| at one corner of the base 96. A second base 93, fixed with respect to the first base, carries a pair of upwardly projecting posts 94, 85, upon which bearing caps 96, 91 for the horizontal shaft I1 are mounted, the member 91 having a vertically disposed bear-ing 98 for the upper end of the shaft 28. A bracket |00, secured to an intermediate portion of the Since these assenso let 26 is iournalled.

The shaft 21 for the sprocket 2l may be driven i by a gear train, not shown, in the same manner as the first infeed spider of the above identified Angelus seamer, the sprocket 25 having been substituted for the dial or spider conventionally used in such machines. Thus, the shafts 21, 41

and B4 are driven in predetermined ratio in a 'well known manner. Rotation is imparted to the double-seamer table by a motor H5, chainclutch and a drive shaft Ill, the action of the clutch being controlled by an operating handle H9.

Hence, the table of the double-seamer, the infeed dial 45 and the sprockets 25, 2| of the container body inverting apparatus are rotated in a desired, predetermined yspeed ratio to enect a smooth transfer of the container bodies from the holders of one device to those of the next. The vertically disposed dial I5, moreover, is rotated at a predetermined speed ratio with respect to the brackets 3| on the chain 29, by the drive shaft 2li which is rotated by chain 40, driven by sprocket 42 fast on the shaft 2li -carrying the sprocket 2l. Hence, all of the container body handling instrumentalities move at the desired relative speeds.

It is thought that the operation of the apparatus will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a consideration of the foregoing description. Containers are deposited by gravity and by the aid of the magnets 22 into the pockets I6 of the vertically disposed dial l5. They are moved around in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) and are deposited in the pockets 35 of the horlzontally disposed brackets 3|, the transfer being effected by the stationary stripper plate 31, which assists gravity and the pull of the magnets 36. As the brackets 3| move. around in a clockwise direction (Figs. 1 and 4) with the chain,l the rollers 33 which have previously supported the brackets in horizontal position encounter the downwardly inclined portion 34a of the track 34, whereupon the brackets swing downwardly to a vertical position, the cans being held in the pockets by the magnets 35. As the brackets approach the transfer point 49, adjacent the seamer infeed dial 45, the fixed strippers 5I, 52 move the container bodies out of the pockets in the brackets, against the force of the magnets 36 and deposit them in the pockets 48 of the infeed dial, where they are held in upright, inverted position by the magnets 50 associated with those pockets. The infeed dial 45 carries the'container bodies, in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 1) and transfers them at point into the pockets l5 of the dial 56 of the double-seaming machine. the transfer being effected by a stripper plate 54 and the can being held in the pocketsby the magnets il.

As the table of the double-seaming machine rotates, the chuck assemblies 66 are raised, to'

urge the container bodies and the end Amembers 60 into operative relation to the seaming rolls-15, rotation of the containers on their own axes being restrained by the rubber linings I0 of the sockets in the chuck assemblies. At the conclusion oi' the seaming operation, the chucks are lowered and the seamed cans are removed from the pockets B5 by stripper plates 18, 11 and trans- 'ferred into the pockets 18 of the outieed dial 8|). the containers being held therein by magnets l2 until they are removed by strippers 83 and deposited into the twister 84. The latter device delivers themin vertical, neck-up position upon conveyor cables 85 which take the containers to the next machine in the line, such as a pressure testing apparatus or the like.

The invention is not limited to the specific details of construction shown in the accompany- `ing drawings and described above, but includes all modifications coming within the scope oi' the appended claims and their equivalents.

We claim: i

1. Apparatus for conveying and handling a line of articles such as container bodies, comprising a vertically disposed dial having horizontally arranged. peripheral pockets adapted to receive containers at an upper portion thereof, magnets associated with the pockets to hold the bodies therein, a plurality of tiltable brackets movable along apredetermined path below said dial, magnets associated with said brackets. means for stripping the containers from the dial pockets and for transferring the same tothe brackets. and means for swinging said brackets fromthe horizontal, body receiving position to a vertical position to support the containersin upright, inverted position.

2. Apparatus for conveying and handling aline of articles such as container bodies from a gravity chute to an infeed dial associated with a can end seaming machine, comprisingl a vertically disposed dial havinghorizontally arranged, peripheral pockets aligned with said chute and adapted to receive containers therefrom, magnets associated with the pockets to hold the bodies therein, a plurality of tiltable brackets movable along a predetermined path below said dial, magnets associated with said brackets, means for stripping the containers from the dial pockets and for transferring the same to the brackets, means for swinging said brackets from the horizontal, body receiving position to a vertical position to support the containers in upright inverted position, and means for stripping the contalners from the brackets and for transferring the same to the pockets in said infeed dial.

3. Apparatus for conveying and handling a line of articles such as container bodies from a gravity chute to an infeed dial associated with a can end seeming machine, comprising a verticallyldisposed dial having horizontally arranged, peripheral pockets aligned with said chute and adapted to receive containers therefrom, magnets associated with the pockets to hold the bodies therein. a plurality of tiltable brackets movable along a predetermined path below said dial, magnets associated with-said brackets. means for stripping the containers from the dial pockets and for transferring the same to the brackets, means for swinging said brackets from the horizontal, body receiving positionI to a vertical position to support the containers in upright, inverted position, said infeed dial having associated therewith vertically disposed peripheral s pockets having magnets therein, and means for 4a line of articles such as container bodies, comprising a gravity chute, a vertically disposed dial having peripheral pockets aligned with the chute and adapted to receive containerbodies therefrom, a chain trained for movement along a horizontal path below said dial, a 'plurality of tiltablebrackets carried by the chain and adapted to receive bodies from the dial in horizontal position, means for swinging the brackets with containers therein from a horizontal to a vertical position, and' means for stripping the articles from the brackets when in the last-mentioned position.

5. An apparatus for' conveying and handling a line of articles such as container bodies, comprising a vertically disposed dial mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis and having a plurality of peripheral pockets disposed on lines parallel tov the dial axis, means for delivering containers to said pockets. a chain below said dial trained for movement along a horizontal path, a vplurality of tltable brackets carried by the chainfor movement therewith, means for transferring the horizontally disposed articles from the dial w said brackets, means for swing-l ing the brackets during the movement of the chain from a vhorizontal to a vertical position, and means for stripping the vertically disposed articlesfrom said brackets.

6. An apparatus for inverting a line of sheet metal containers, comprising a plurality of brackets having pockets adapted to receive the side walls of the bodies in horizontal position, permanent magnets associated with said pockets, means for moving the brackets along a predetermined path, means for swinging the brackets from the horizontal 'to a vertical position in which the containers are held in the pockets by the magnets, and means for stripping the containers in such vertical position from said pockets.

7. Thecombination with the infeed dial of a can body end seaming machine,v of means for receiving a line of bodies in horizontal position and for delivering them to said dial in upright,

inverted position, said lmeans comprising a plu- '1 9. The combination with the infeed dial of a can body end seeming machine, ot means for receiving a line of bodies in horizontal position and for delivering them to said dial in upright, inverted position, said means comprising a dial mounted for rotation in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis and having horizontally disposed body receiving pockets in its periphery, means for delivering bodies to said pockets, permanent magnets associated with the pockets for holding the bodies therein, a plurality oi brack-a ets movable on a path below said dial, means for stripping the bodies from the dial and transferring them to the brackets in horizontal P0- sition, body holding permanent magnets associated with the brackets, means for swinging the brackets from the mst-mentioned position to a vertical position in which the bodies are held in the brackets in inverted position by said magnets, and for stripping the bodies therefrom and` for transferring them to said inieed dial in such position.

10. The combination with the infeed dial of a can body end seaming machine, of means for receiving a line of can bodies in horizontal position and for delivering them to said dial in upright, inverted position, said means comprising a chute down which the bodies roll in horizontal position, a dial rotatable about a horizontal axis and having horizontally arranged body receiving pockets in its periphery adapted to receive the bodies from the chute, means for holding the bodies in the pockets as the bodies' approach the underside of the dial, a plurality or' tiltable brackets mounted for movement along a predetermined path below said dial, a

xed stripper disposed adjacent the bottom of position therefrom and for transferring them'to said infeed dial.

8. The combination with the infeed dial of a y can body end seaming machine, of means for receiving a line of bodies in horizontal position and for delivering them to said dial in upright. inverted position, said means comprising a chain trained for movement on a horizontal path, a plurality of body receiving brackets pivotally connected to said chain, permanent magnets associated with the brackets, means for swinging the brackets during their movement with the chain from a horizontal bo'dy receiving position to a vertical position in which the bodies are held in the brackets in inverted position by said magnets, and means for stripping the bodies in that position therefrom against the pull of the magnets and for transferring them to said infeed dial.

the dial for transferring the bodies from the pockets therein to said brackets, means for swinging `the brackets from the horizontal, receiving position to a substantially vertical position, means for holding the bodies in the brackets in inverted re1ation,and means for stripping the bodies from the brackets and for transferring them to said infeed dial.

11. The combination lwith an infeed dial o! a can body end seaming machine having permanent magnets associated with'the body receiving pockets thereof, of means for receiving a line of bodies in horizontal position and for de livering them to the dial pockets in upright, inverted position, said means comprising a dial mounted for rotation in a vertical plane andhavingv horizontally disposed body receiving pockets in its periphery, Aa chute for delivering bodies to said pockets, permanent magnets in the pockets for holding the bodies therein, a plurality .of tiltable brackets movable in horizontal position on a path below said dial, means for stripping the bodies from the dial pockets against the pull of the magnets and for transferring them to the brackets in that position, permanent magnets associated with the brackets, means for swinging the brackets from the horizontal position to a vertical position in which' lthe bodies are held in the brackets in inverted position by said magnets, and means for stripping the bodies from the brackets in vthat position against the pull of said magnets and for transferring them to said infeed dial iny such position, where they are held by the magnets associated therewith. l

WILTIE I. GLADFELTER.

WILLIAM H. MOORE. 

